In India, it is normal and even healthy that women love each other, and that they have sex with others. However, this implies that they also have a male lover. The girls of high social status were raised earlier in the company of a sakhi, who were girls from poor families and were considered and treated as sisters of the rich girl.

Intimacy and physical erotic contact have always been considered normal and healthy in all Eastern cultures. Very often, sisters or friends use to share the same bed. Having a sakhi as a partner was revitalizing, auspicious and different. The accepted belief is that within a community of sisters for example, due to complex resonance processes, the femininity of all members and participants became stronger and more pronounced.

Through subtle consonance and empathy, a sakhi would add her own qualities and experiences to those of her sister, thus enriching her inner universe. Rich women and their sakhi's were often inseparable. On the other hand, when a wealthy woman was to marry, her sakhi naturally became her husband's concubines and would help the woman in her rituals always performed with sexual continence.

Within a community of such sisters, Sapphic activities were considered perfectly natural, and ancient Indian art has illustrated this fact in many cases. Sister communities have evolved over time into a polygamous society. Generally, the wives and sisters shared a deep intimacy, and the caresses they exchanged were not considered perversions, but on the contrary, they were encouraged and seen as the expression of true and deep love and affection.

Ramayana, the famous Indian epic, contains a fragment that poetically describes the Sapphic practices in a home. Fine women lived or slept on the carpets after they had loved during the night. His breath was perfumed as the sweet vine. While still dreaming, some of them turn to their companions and taste the sweetness of their lips as if they were the master's lips.

Their passion, once aroused, led them to make love to each other, and then went to sleep in their luxurious sheets, in the arms of their lover, with the head in the belly, breasts, thighs or the back. These charming young women, having made love to each other, now sleep without order or concert, allowing a sweet dream to take care of them.

Rich Indian women regularly hired a number of servants, whose functions included, among other things, bathing, applying ointment, staining, massaging and ultimately the adornment of her lover. This custom is still in use in contemporary India. The close relationships with the sakhi naturally become Sapphic relationships, especially in the case of beautiful, sensual and lonely women.

The Kama Sutra provides a detailed description of how women should use their mouth and tongue in order to stimulate yoni. The same book describes how sexual desires can be satisfied by using certain bulbs, vegetables, or fruits, whose shape resembles that of the lingam. Unlike male homosexuality, which is considered sinful, safic love was never seen as a sin or an insult to Indian law. Miniature paintings dating back to medieval times often show several women petting each other.

For example, the paintings that present Krishna and his Gopi's, often depict the Gopi's in an erotic way, that is to say, that they present themselves in passionate and sensual hugs. Tantra and Buddhist literature contain a multitude of references to the extraordinary regenerative and transcendental power inherent in this type of sister communities. This teaching is especially emphasized in Taoist tradition.

On the other hand, contemporary Hinduism describes five distinct categories. The classic form of sapphism practiced in the West is the lower type in the East. In fact, it is considered the degeneration of the highly spiritual forms of sapphism, which involve continence and not orgasm with the management of sexual energy. In the old days, South India had close contacts with Egypt. India was famous for its refined silk, spices, and last but not least, for the woman, who were expert in the art of making love and for the dancers in the temples.

The ancient Egyptian laws did not prohibit sapphism. On the other hand, there is some archaeological evidence that Egyptian women often had intimate relationships. The images inside the Egyptian tombs present officials lovingly caress their lovers, as well as some images of the harem, of a striking resemblance to the Indian cultures.

Jewish law did not prohibit sapphism as well. As for Islamic society, which has always encouraged polygamy, sapphic love was quite popular, and a common practice not only within the harem but also outside it. The obvious contradiction can be explained in terms of Arab men who are afraid that women would gain in strength. The Arab mentality implies that the woman is a mere possession that symbolizes the social condition of the man, reason why they must be kept under control instead of elevated or gratuitous through the mystical sexuality.

In many of the so-called pagan cultures around the world, intimate sexual contact between women is considered healthy and natural. This fact is valid, especially in matriarchal societies. Many tribes in Africa, Asia, Pacific Islands and South America are considered to be an integral part of their socio-religious system.

For example, in the African tribe of Paia, pertaining to Bantu culture, a woman can lose her virginity only having sex with another woman. They choose their partners carefully because they will become sisters and then they will spend three days every month, during which they will practice sapphism.

There is a similar custom in the Luduku tribe in the Congo. Young women from the tribes of New Guinea are accustomed to practicing oral sex with their old friends, with the idea that they will, therefore, absorb some of the feminine wisdom and sensual charm of their more experienced friends.

In China and Japan, sapphism is very natural and common. According to Taoist tradition, the woman has an almost inexhaustible energy, Yin. On the other hand, the principle according to which beautiful and sensual women can reciprocally increase their vital fluids is a basic one.

In the West, women's communities have often been misunderstood. Recent research indicates that the vast majority of Western women have had, throughout their lives have Sapphic experiences, one or more times. However, in the West, the conviction that it is a perversion continues to hold an important place. However, women's communities do not necessarily imply that they have sex. However, if such occasions occur spontaneously, the methods through which two women can achieve sexual satisfaction are varied and numerous.

The esoteric teachings underscore the importance of kissing. Kiss is said to increase the element of water in a person, an element usually associated with the moon, which regulates menstruation. Taoist teachings insist on the importance of oral stimulation of the mouth, Yoni, and breasts as an excellent means for women to expand their feminine qualities.

Tantric teachings and Taoist teachings share the same point of view on this aspect, and even encourage female sexual relations with continence, but also indicates that women should also have a male lover. However, Western women who try to explore their own sexuality should be warned that sapphic love is not an alternative to heterosexual love.

Neither Tantric teaching nor Taoist teaching encourages the exclusive practice of sapphic love. The reason is that both traditions consider that the most important aspect is the absolute unity of the two universal principles of male and female. A Sapphic relationship or even a community of women practicing sapphism implies a true mutual love, sexual continence, deep state of transfiguration and generosity.

The modern woman is determined to regard other women as competitors, rather than friends or allies. Women of the ancient Orient knew true communion and feminine solidarity based on attraction and even love. The Tantric tradition has much to offer modern women if they tried to understand the profound meaning of sapphic love, as well as the practical methods through which women can become emancipated in the true sense of the word.

Welcome to the travel blog of Kalyan Panja. He is a freelance travel writer, food and lifestyle blogger and an influencer, sharing stories and experiences through photographs and words. Kalyan also helps brands to spread their reach among an internet savvy generation through vibrant visuals and compelling stories.
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